Multiple semi-fluid dispensing nozzle having adjustable vanes



March 23, 1965 F. w. VILLEMURE 3,174,652

-FLUID DISPENSING NOZZLE HAVING ADJUSTABLE VANES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MULTIPLE SEMI Filed April 1 1963 I I 2 72 g WvGM March 23, 1965 F. w. VILLEMURE MULTIPLE SEMI-FLUID DISPENSING NOZZLE HAVING ADJUSTABLE VANES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April I, 1963 United States Patent 3,174,652 MULTEPLE SEWER-FLUID DISEENSING NUZZLE HAVING ADEUSTABLE VANES Fred W. Villemure, Rockford, 111., assignor to Anderson Bros. Mfg. (30., Rockford, lll., a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 1, 1963, Ser. No. 269,558 8 Claims. (Cl. 222-132) This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for filling containers and particularly to a multiple material dispensing nozzle for filling containers with semi-fluid materials.

In packaging semi-fluid materials such as ice cream, sherbet and the lie, it is now common practice to convey the material from a continuous type freezer to a dispensing nozzle and to discharge the material in a semifluid or plastic state directly into the container to fill the same. When packaging multiple materials or flavors in a package, several separate freezers are connected to a common nozzle and the nozzle is arranged to discharge the different materials or flavors in side-by-side streams into the container. However, it is very difiicult to accurately balance the operation of the several separate freezers in such a manner that the freezers each deliver the material at the same rate and with the same consistency. Thus, when the ice cream or sherbet from one continuous freezer becomes relatively softer than that from another freezer feeding the same nozzle, the softer ice cream will tend to flow more rapidly from the freezer to the nozzle. The containers are intermittently moved to a position below the filling nozzle and the softer ice cream also tends to flow more rapidly from the nozzle, particularly during that portion of the filling cycle immediately following placement of the container below the nozzle, with the result that the relative amounts of the different materials fed into the container as well as the product lines which separate materials, are not uniform.

An important object of this invention is to provide a nozzle for dispensing semi-fluid materials from different sources, and which is adjustable to compensate for the differences in consistency and rate of how of the different materials fed to the nozzle to control the distribution of the different materials as they are dispensed into the container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a nozzle for dispensing a plurality of semi-fluid materials in sideby-side relation into a container, and which nozzle can be readily and easily adjusted during dispensing to control the relative flows of the several different materials into the container.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a nozzle for dispensing a plurality of difierent materials into a container, and which is of simple and economical construction and which can be readily disassembled for cleaning.

These, together with other objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the nozzle with parts broken away and shown in section to illustrate details of construction;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view through the nozzle;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view through the nozzle taken on the plane 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 48 are fragmentary sectional views through the nozzle and illustrating different adjusted positions of the nozzle for different operating conditions.

The dispensing nozzle of the present invention is generally adapted for use in dispensing semi-fluid or plastic materials such as ice cream, sherbet or the like from several different sources in side-by-side relation into a container and may, for example, be used with a filling machine of the type shown in the copending application of Swan Anderson et al., Serial No. 65,060, filed October 26, 1960, now Patent No. 3,103,959. In general, the filling machine includes a nozzle 10 having a downwardly facing discharge opening and which is connected, as by a plurality of conduits designated Ila-11c to separate sources, such as continuous type freezers designated 12a- 120. An elevator 13 is provided for elevating a container C into position below the nozzle, and a transfer mechanism designated 14, herein diagrammatically shown in the form of a pusher, is provided for moving the filled container crosswise of the nozzle when the top of the container reaches the lower end of the nozzle, to shear off the material in the container from that in the nozzle.

The nozzle 10 includes spaced side walls 21, 22 and end walls 23, 24. The carton C is preferably moved into at least partial telescoping relation with the nozzle by the elevator 13, and the container moves downwardly as it is filled under the weight of the material in the container and the pressure on the material leaving the nozzle. The end walls 23 and 24 of the nozzle are preferably formed with inwardly converging lower end portions designated 23 and 24 respectively and, similarly, the side wall 21 located at the front with respect to the direction of movement of the carton crosswise of the nozzle, is s milarly formed with an inwardly inclined lower end portion 21. inwardly directed flanges 25 are also preferably provided at the lower end of the nozzle and define a lower discharge opening 26. The flanges aid in retaining the semifiuid material in the nozzle during movement of the filled carton away from the nozzle and while a subsequent empty carton is being moved into filling position. In addition, the flanges inhibit spreading of the semi-fluid material outwardly onto the outer side walls of the carton.

A cover member 28 is attached to the upper end of the nozzle and, as shown, a peripheral rim 29 is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the upper end of the nozzle and connected to the cover member by fasteners 30 in such a manner as to enable ready removal of the nozzle from the cover member. The cover member itself extends laterally of the nozzle and is detachably mounted on the frame of the filling machine (not shown). In order to adapt the nozzle for dispensing a plurality of semi-fluid materials in side-by-side relation into the container, the cover member is formed with a plurality of openings, herein shown three in number and designated 3111-310. The openings are spaced apart in a direction lengthwise of the side walls 21 and 22 and are connected through the aforementioned conduits 1la-11c to the several continuous type freezers 12a-12c. Vanes 33 and 34 are provided in the nozzle for segregating and controlling the flows of the several different semi-fluid materials through the nozzle and into the containers.

The vanes 33 and 34 are preferably similarly constructed and like numerals are used to designate cor responding parts. The vanes 33 and 34 are mounted in the nozzle to extend between the side walls 21 and 22 to separate the different materials flowing through the nozzle, and the vanes are supported for adjustment in a direction laterally of the end walls 23 and 24 to enable control of the relative flows of the different materials. For this purpose, opposed pairs of pins designated 35 and 36 are secured to the side walls 21 and 22 and extend inwardly of the nozzle. The pins are preferably spaced a substantial distance from the inlet end of the nozzle and the vanes 33 and 34 are formed with offset ears 37 adjacent opposite side edges which, together with the body of the vane, form downwardly opening U-shaped saddles which straddle the respective pairs of pins'35 and 36, as is clearly saunas adjacent the lower end of the nozzle as shown in the,

drawings. The vanes 33 and 34 extend upwardly to a point adjacent the cover member 28 and, when the vanes are in a generallyupright position, the upper ends are located intermediate adjacent ones of the openings 31a- 31c to separate the different materials in the nozzle. A

means is provided for laterally adjusting the vanes and, as is shown, this includes rods 41 and 42 which are longitudinally adjustable, as by threaded engagement with a nut 43 afiixed to a respective one of the end walls 23' and 24. The rods are formed with a finger engaging portion 44 at their outer ends to enableturning of the rods, and the rods have a reduced portion adjacent their inner ends defining a reduced hub 46. The vanes 33 and 34 are each formed withopenings 48 which are dimensioned to receive the ends of the rods 41 and 42, and which openings have reduced key portions 49 adjacent their upper edge which receive the hub portions 46 on a respective rod to non-slidably and rotatably connect the rods to the vanes. As will be seen, the vanes can be readily inserted and removed from the nozzle through the open upper end of the nozzle by merely lifting the .vanes sufiicient todisengage the key portion 49 of the slot from. the rod and then pulling the vane oh the end of the rod and withdrawing the saddle portion of the vane from the pivot pins 35 or 36.

With the above described arrangement, the vanes, 33.

and 34 can be selectively adjusted in a direction laterally of the end walls to control the relative flows of the semifluid materials passing through the nozzle into the container. FIGS. 48 diagrammatically illustrate the operation of the nozzle in the control of the flows of the several different materials passing through the nozzle into the container. In FIGS. 4 and 5, three different semifiuid materials designated M1, M2 and M3, such as different flavored ice creams from separate continuous freezers, is passed through the nozzle into the container. x FIG. '4 illustrates thevanes 33 in their upright or normal position, and, for thepurpose of illustrating the problem, it is assumed that the material designated M3 is relatively softer than the materials M1 and M2. This produces the somewhat uneven distribution and flow lines indicated in FIG. 4 wherein it is shown that therelatively softer material M3 tends to flow more rapidly into the container, particularly during the initial portion of the filling cycle, so that the amount of the material M3 adjacent the bottom of the container is relatively greater than that of the materials M1 and M2. In order to overcome this uneven distribution and non-uniform product line, at least one of the vanes such as 34 is adjusted laterally away from the end wall 23 so that a portion of the adjacent material M2 flows downwardly along the opposite side of the vane and alongside the material M3, as shown in FIGS. The portion of the material M2 that is diverted to the other side of the vane reduces the eifective flow area for the relatively soft material M3 and, since it is stiifer, tends to chill and solidify the material M3 along the interface with that materialso as to produce the more uniform distribution and product lines diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 5 as the material enters the container. In FIG. 6, it is assumed that the material Mlentering the central opening is relatively softer than the materials'Ml' and M3 entering the opposite side'openin'gs. Under these conditions, the vanes are adjusted as shown in FIG. 6 to divert some of the materials M1 and M3 to the inner sides of the vanes 33 and 34. Conversely, when the material M2 in the center opening is relatively harder than the material M1 and M3, the vanes are adjusted in the relatively opposite direction as shown in FIG. 7.

Although .the nozzle is specifically constructed and designed for handling three diiferent materials, it can be adapted for handling'a different number of materials. For example, as shown in FIG. .8, it can be employed to dispense two different materials. Under these conditions, the central opening 31b may be plugged as indicated at 51 and the materials designated M1 and M3 are fed to the nozzle to the end openings 31a and 310. The vanes 33 and 34 can then be adjustedas shown in FIG. 8 to producev substantially equal distribution of the materials M1 and M3 in the container. 7

From the foregoing, it is thought that the operation and construction of the device will be readily understood. The nozzle canbe readily assembled and disassembled for cleaning by merely detaching the nozzle from the cover member and then withdrawing the vanes fromthe.

rods and pivot pins in the manner previously described. Since the rods extend externally of the nozzle, the vanes can be readily adjusted during the filling operation to accommodate changes in the operation of. the continuous freezers which supply the different materials to the nozzle. The nozzle isreadily adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of different conditions, and to also handle relatively different numbersof semi-fluid materials in such a manner as to substantially equalize the flows and distribution of material into the containers.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying the invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a nozzle for dispensing aplurality of semi-fluid materials from different supply sources in side-by-side relation into a container, said nozzle comprising a hollow nozzle body having spaced side and end walls, said nozzle body having a discharge opening at the lower end anda cover member at the upper'end, said cover member having at least three openings therein spaced apart in a direction lengthwise of the side walls and means for connecting the openings to different sources of semi-fluid material, at least two vanes in said nozzle body extending between said side walls, said vanesbeing laterally spaced from the, end walls and from. each other, means supporting the vanes on the side walls for pivotal movement about an axis extending transverse to said side walls and disposed relatively closer to the lower edgeof thev vanes than to the upper edge thereof, and means individual to each vane and operable from externally of the nozzle for adjustably tilting said vanes about their respective axes to control the flows of semi-fluid material through the nozzle into the container.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said vane supporting means includes pins arranged in opposed pairs having a reduced hub portion adjacent their inner ends,

said vanes having openings therein detachably and nonslidably engaging said hub portions to enable ready removal of thevanes from the nozzle for cleaning.

4. In combination with a plurality of continuous type freezers adapted to deliver a plurality of separate streams of semi-fluid material, a nozzle for dispensing said semifiuid frozen material from said differentfreezers in sideby-side ribbons into a container, said nozzle being adjustable to compensate for differences in consistency and rate of flow of the different materials, said nozzle comprising a hollow nozzle body having spaced side and end walls, said body having an outlet opening at the lower end and a plurality of inlet openings at the upper end at spaced locations between the end walls, means for connecting each inlet opening to a respective one of said freezers, at least one vane dimensioned to extend between the side walls from a point adjacent the upper end of the nozzle, to a point spaced a substantial distance from the upper end of the nozzle, means mounting said vane on the nozzle with the lower portion of the vane spaced laterally from the end walls and with the upper portion of the vane movable relative to the side walls in a direction laterally of the end walls, the upper portion of said vane being normally positioned intermediate adjacent inlet openings, and means operable to adjustably position the upper portion of said vane in a direction laterally from said normal position to control the flow of the side-by-side ribbons of semi-fluid material flowing through the nozzle.

5. In combination with a plurality of continuous type freezers adapted to deliver a plurality of separate streams of semi-fluid material, a nozzle for dispensing said semifiuid frozen material from said different freezers in sideby-side ribbons into a container, said nozzle being ad justable to compensate for differences in consistency and rate of flow of the diflerent materials, said nozzle comprising a hollow nozzle body having spaced side and end walls, said body having an outlet opening at the lower end and a plurality of inlet openings at the upper end at spaced locations between the end walls, means for connecting each inlet opening to a respective one of said freezers, at least two vanes dimensioned to extend between said side walls from a point adjacent the upper end of the nozzle to a point spaced a substantial distance from the upper end of the nozzle, means mounting said vanes on the nozzle with the lower portions of the vanes laterally spaced from each other and from the end walls and with the upper portions of said vanes movable relative to said side walls in a direction laterally of said end walls, the upper portions of said vanes being normally positioned between adjacent ones of said inlet openings, and means operable to adjustably position the upper portions of said vanes in a direction laterally from said normal position to control the flow of the side-by-side ribbons of semi-fluid material flowing through the nozzle.

6. In combination with a plurality of continuous type freezers adapted to deliver a plurality of separate streams of semi-fluid material, a nozzle for dispensing said semifiuid frozen material from said different freezers in sideby-side ribbons into a container, said nozzle being adjustable to compensate for difierences in consistency and rate of flow of the different materials, said nozzle comprising a hollow nozzle body having spaced side and end walls, said body having an outlet opening at the lower end and a plurality of inlet openings at the upper end at spaced locations between the end walls, means for connecting each inlet opening to a respec tive one of said freezers, at least two vanes dimensioned to extend between said side walls from a point adjacent the upper end to a point adjacent the lower end of the nozzle, means pivotally mounting the lower portion of said vanes on said nozzle body with said lower portions laterally spaced from each other and from the end walls, the upper portions of said vanes being normally positioned between adjacent ones of said inlet openings, and means operable from externally of the nozzle to adjustably position the upper portions of the vanes in a direction laterally from said normal position to control the flow of the side-by-side ribbons of semi-fluid material flowing through the nozzle.

7. The combination of a nozzle for dispensing a plurality of semi-fluid frozen materials from different supply sources in side-by-side ribbons into a container, said nozzle being adjustable to compensate for differences in consistency and rate of flow of the different materials, said nozzle comprising a hollow nozzle body having spaced side and end walls, said nozzle having a discharge opening at the bottom and a cover at the top, said cover having a plurality of inlet openings therein at spaced locations between the end walls and means for connecting the openings to different sources of semifluid material, at least one vane in said nozzle dimen sioned to extend between the side walls from a point adjacent the cover to a point adjacent the lower end of the nozzle, means pivotally mounting said vane on said nozzle for tilting movement about an axis extending transverse to the side walls adjacent the lower portion of the vane, the upper portion of said vane being normally positioned between adjacent ones of said inlet openings, and means operable to adjustably position the upper portion of said vane laterally from said normal position to control the flow of the side-by-side ribbons of semi-fluid material flowing through the nozzle.

8. The combination of a nozzle for dispensing a plurality of semi-fluid frozen materials from diiferent supply sources in side-by-side ribbons into a container, said nozzle being adjustable to compensate for differences in consistency and rate of flow of the different materials, said nozzle comprising a hollow nozzle body having spaced side and end walls, said nozzle having a discharge opening at the bottom and a cover at the top, said cover having a plurality of inlet openings therein at spaced locations between the end walls and means for connecting the openings to dilferent sources of semi-fluid material, at least two vanes in said nozzle body dimensioned to extend from a point adjacent the upper end of the nozzle to a point adjacent the lower end of the nozzle, means pivotally mounting the lower portions of the vanes on said nozzle body with said lower portions laterally spaced from each other and from the end walls, the upper portions of the vanes being normally positioned between adjacent ones of said inlet openings, and means operable from externally of the nozzle to adjustably position the upper portions of the vanes in a direction laterally of said normal position to control the flow of the side-by-side ribbons of semi-fluid material flowing through the nozzle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 137,268 3/73 Wetmore 137-612 486,919 11/92 Winget 222-129 1,417,040 5/22 Defauconpret 222-438 1,621,022 3/27 Merchen 137-612 1,663,574 3/28 Venable 222-129 2,214,736 9/40 Carmichael et al. 137-612 2,553,815 5/51 Dulken et al 239-562 2,728,354 12/55 Shutts 138-37 2,893,605 7/59 Anderson 222-488 2,962,191 11/ 60 Moore 222- 3,080,884 3/63 Nelson et al. 137-315 3,103,959 9/63 Anderson et a1 141-100 LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primal) Examiner.

EVERETT W. KIRBY, Examiner. 

1. THE COMBINATION OF A NOZZLE FOR DISCHARGING A PLURALITY OF SEMI-FLUID MATERIALS FROM DIFFERENT SUPPLY SOURCES IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATION INTO A CONTAINER, SAID NOZZLE COMPRISING A HOLLOW BODY HAVING A DISCHARGE SIDE AND END WALLS, SAID NOZZLE BODY HAVING A DISCHARGE OPENING AT THE LOWER END AND A COVER MEMBER AT THE UPPER END, SAID COVER MEMBER HAVING AT LEAST THREE OPENINGS THEREIN SPACED APART IN A DIRECTION LENGTHWISE OF THE SIDE WALLS AND MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE OPENINGS TO DIFFERENT SOURCES OF SEMI-FLUID MATERIAL, AT LEAST TWO VANE IN SAID NOZZLE BODY EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS, SAID VANES BEING LATERALLY SPACAED FROM THE END WALLS AND FROM EACH OTHER, MEANS SUPPORTING THE VANES ON THE SIDE WALLS FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING TRANSVERSE TO SAID SIDE WALLS AND DISPOSED RELATIVELY CLOSER TO THE LOWER EDGE OF THE VANES THAN TO THE UPPER EDGE THEREOF, AND MEANS INDIVIDUAL TO EACH VANE AND OPERABLE FROM EXTERNALLY OF THE NOZZLE FOR ADJUSTABLY TILTING SAID VANES ABOUT THEIR RESPECTIVE AXES TO CONTROL THE FLOWS OF SEMI-FLUID MATERIAL THROUGH THE NOZZLE INTO THE CONTAINER. 